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Introduction

The Two Motets Op 74 were published in 1878 with a dedication to the great Bach scholar, Philipp Spitta. This is no doubt an acknowledgement of the fact that the great German master’s influence is at its most potent in these particular pieces.

‘Warum ist das Licht gegeben?’ was composed during the idyllic summer of 1877 at Pörtschach, at a time when the composer was putting the finishing touches to his Second Symphony. The first performance was given in Vienna on 8 December 1878. After a severe and imposing four-part opening section in D minor (‘Slowly and with expression’), there follows a canonic setting of ‘Lasset uns’ in six parts (divided sopranos and basses), its warm, F major glow perfectly reflecting the underlying message of the words. The following section (‘Siehe, wir’) is in two halves, the second beginning at the words ‘Die Geduld Hiob’, which developes into a repeat of the music for ‘Lasset uns’. The motet is concluded by a four-part chorale setting to the words ‘Mit Fried und Freud’.

‘O Heiland, reiss die Himmel auf’, in four parts, was composed rather earlier, between 1863 and 1864, the format and mode of expression relating it to the first of the Op 29 motets with which it is roughly contemporary. It is in strict chorale variation form, the five sections being clearly marked by Brahms as ‘Versus I’ etc. in the score. After the opening chorale setting, ‘O Gott ein Tau’ (Versus II) places the chorale melody in the soprano line whilst the supporting parts sing a three-part canon based on a rhythmically diminished version of the same theme. ‘O Erd schlag aus’ introduces a rhythmic variant in the form of a triplet, whilst ‘Versus IV’ (‘Hie leiden wir’—Adagio) is a canon by inversion, whereby the overlapping part has the same melody, but with all the intervals turned upside down. ‘Da wollen’ continues this trend with a double canon (i.e. two canons sounded simultaneously) in inversion, the altos/tenors and sopranos/basses being paired. The final ‘Amen’ demonstrates the ‘stretto’ effect, whereby the various overlapping entries appear ever closer to one another, creating a superb final peroration.

Recordings

'Baker and his choir do a fine job with these pieces. The conclusion to Schaffe in mir is wonderfully exciting … while the close to Geistliche ...'It is hard to imagine finer singing of these sacred scores from Brahms and Rheinberger than that from the Westminster Cathedral Choir. The Cathedral ...» More

A Choral Tapestry' explores the rich vocal timbres of sacred vocal music spanning five centuries. Interweaving genres create an ethereal sonic tapestry that centres around the haunting beauty of William Byrd's Mass for Four Voices. The programme i ...» More

Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, And life unto the bitter in soul? Which long for death, but it cometh not; And dig for it more than for hid treasures; Which rejoice exceedingly, And are glad, when they can find the grave? Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, And whom God hath hedged in?

Warum ist das Licht gegeben? (Op 74 No 1) was completed in 1877—a dozen years after its partner—although it does borrow material from the Missa canonica of over two decades before, which in that sense makes it the earlier piece. Warum? is made up of four movements, the first of which begins with a fugal exposition introduced by two statements of the opening word (with its arresting tonic–subdominant and dominant–tonic cadences). This strong cadential statement reappears after the exposition and leads to an imitative section; this is followed by a homophonic section which paves the way for a third cadential statement of the word ‘Warum?’. At this point—two thirds of the way through the movement—Brahms effects a Renaissance-style sesquialtera tempo change and adapts his fugue subject so that it metamorphoses from an angular four-square motif into a light triple-time figure. The movement ends with a fourth cadential statement of the opening word.

The second movement takes the music of the four-voice Benedictus from the Missa canonica and expands it to a six-voice texture in the middle of this short movement. The third movement is in two sections, again linked by a sesquialtera tempo relationship. The first section harmonizes a chorale-like melody in the soprano line with beautifully flowing counterpoint culminating in a nostalgic cadential suspension whose Renaissance roots are palpable. The second section is joined seamlessly to a recapitulation of the second movement material. The final movement is a chorale which—though Bachian to the core—gradually slips away into a peculiarly Romantic sleep.

Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul? Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures; which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave? Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in?

Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.

Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

In peace and joy I take my leave, for God’s sake. Faithful am I, in heart and mind; calm and at peace. For God has promised me: that death will become sleep.

Why is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul? which long for death but it cometh not, and dig for it more than for hidden treasures; which rejoice exceedingly and are glad, when they can find the grave? And given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in?

Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.

Behold, we count them happy which endure.

You have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy.

With peace and joy I go forth, in the will of God, my heart and mind are comforted, gentle and still. As God has promised me, death is become sleep to me.

O Redeemer, rend the Heavens; Come down from Heaven above; Tear down the gates and doors of Heaven; Release all that is under lock and key.

O Heiland, reiss die Himmel auf (Op 74 No 2) is a traditional chorale-motet which couches the melody of the chorale in increasingly dense textures stanza by stanza. Brahms was clearly proud (and rightly so) of his achievement in this motet, so much so that he sent the piece to Clara Schumann, presumably for her approval. Clara admitted that Brahms had composed with great contrapuntal skill, but damningly she reported that she could not ‘find such a chaos of harmonies, one on top of the other, beautiful’. One wonders whether Clara might have said the same about some of the similarly texturally dense works of Palestrina or Bach. The first stanza of O Heiland places the chorale melody in the soprano line while the other voices weave an imitative bed beneath it. The second stanza sees the accompanying voices imitate the melody in diminution and half way through the tenor adopts an inverted form of the melody. The tenor assumes a dominant position in the third stanza where it carries the cantus firmus amidst athletic accompaniment from the outer voices. The fourth stanza is the densest of all, its chromaticism underpinned by an elaborated version of the cantus firmus in the bass. The last movement adapts the chorale melody to form an inversion canon between soprano and bass until the appearance of the ‘Amen’ where Brahms crowns this majestic contrapuntal achievement with a double inversion canon which pairs soprano with bass and alto with tenor.